Green Beans Hazelnut Orange Salad

Greens Beans, Hazelnut & Orange Salad

I recently discovered a new type of green bean, the Purple Queen Bush Bean. In actual fact its outer skin is an aubergine colour which turns to a deep shade of green when cooked. Magic!

You could use these for this recipe but I only had normal green beans (French beans) on had, which work just as well. Toasting the hazelnuts removes their slightly bitter taste and allows you to rub off part of the skin, exposing the nut below. The orange is a nice contrast to the nuts and sweetness of the beans.

The original recipe is from the Ottolenghi cookbook. I adapted it as snow peas (mangetout) are often difficult to find here and I try, when possible, to buy local produce.

ERIKA ALLISTON – Green Beans Hazelnut Orange Salad Recipe

• 450 g green (French) beans
• 100 g whole hazelnuts
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• 1/2 skin of an orange
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon nut oil (hazelnut or almond)*
• salt & pepper

*Use olive oil here if nut oil is not available

1. Hazelnuts: Pre heat the oven to 180°C / 375°F. Spread on a baking sheet and toast for 15 minutes, turning them after 7 minutes. Let cool, rub to remove part of the skins & then lightly chop, set aside
2. Green beans: Boil a large pot of water, cook the beans at a boil for 7 minutes.  Then immediately place beans in very COLD water.**
3. Orange zest: Using a citrus peeler, remove the 1/2 the zest from an orange, avoiding the bitter white part. Or use a vegetable peeler, in which case you will need to slice the pieces into thin strips.
4. In a large bowl toss the green beans, toasted hazelnuts, orange zest, garlic, salt & pepper.

**This will keep the beans green and crunchy

Avocado, goat cheese, red quinoa salad

Quinoa -  simply delicious, with a little crunch and nutty flavour, makes a nice change from eating rice and cous cous. Add to that chunks of ripe avocado, pieces of creamy goats cheese, some garlicky pesto + toasted pine nuts, and you have a great salad!

I often find myself stuck for inspiration when it comes to lunch and craving something different, but at the same time not having hours to spend in the kitchen. This recipe checks all the boxes. I even made the quinoa the nightbefore, so it was just a matter of quickly chopping up the avo, toasting the nuts and throwing the salad together.

Thank god my avocado was ripe this time, as I have been on streak of bad luck lately, to the point of having to return two to the grocerystore as they were completely uneatable.  I figure at CHF2.50 an avocado, you should have something good to show for it!

And for those vegetarians out there, quinoa is a great hidden secret, a fab grain-like, pseudo cereal, which are actually edible seeds.  It comes in red or white, and is a great source of protein, while being gluten-free and easy to digest. What more could you ask for!

Also I just received a note from Michelle of Bleeding Espresso Blog who is hosting a great food contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, called O Foods, so take a look HERE!!!

RECIPE : SWEET PEA blog

• 100 gr red or white quinoa*
• 1 ripe avocado
• 3-4 tablespoons goats cheese
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts
• 5 tablespoons pesto (or more if you like) (PESTO RECIPE)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• salt & pepper to taste

*I prefer the red, as it has a more nutty flavour, but is generally more expensive to buy

1. Cook the quinoa as per box instructions. Leave to cool to room temperature.
2. Prepare the avocado: put lemon juice in a medium sized bowl. Cut avocado into chunks and toss in lemon juice, set aside.
3. Toast pine nuts in a non stick pan until lightly golden.
4. Mix quinoa and olive oil. Add pesto & toasted pine nuts, mix gently – you want clumps of pesto to remain. Gently fold in the avocado, add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve, with pieces of goats cheese on top.

Taboule (tabbouleh, tabouli ) – is an easy recipe for when you don’t feel like cooking! Or when you don’t have time to cook, or when you have a big group coming over, or if, like my brother, you don’t have an oven! There does not seem to be one single recipe for tabbouleh, but several variations on a theme: Moroccan, Armenian, Turkish, Syrian and Lebanese. The basic dish is a salad of herbs to which you add tomatoes, onions and bulgar wheat (cracked wheat). Traditionally it is eaten as part of a mezze, a selection of small dishes,  using a lettuce leaf.

I prefer this salad when it has a 50:50 balance of herbs (mint /parsley) to bulgar, but what is great is that you can  personalise the dish to your taste. Another reason I was attracted to this salad is that it is budget conscious and in these times that can be nothing but a good thing!

RECIPE  - SWEET PEA Blog

• 80 grams bulgar wheat (cracked wheat)
• 2 shallots + 1 teaspoon oil for cooking (alternative*)
• 3 tomatoes
• 1 bouquet of flat parsley
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• juice of one lemon
• salt & pepper
• sprinkle of cumin (optional)

*chopped fresh spring onions

(Photos: Bulgar wheat, fresh mint, flat parsley, shallots)

1. First prepare the bulgar wheat. Place in a bowl, cover with cold water and leave in the fridge for an hour.
2. Next prepare the onions. Finely chop, and cook in oil until just soft.  Alternatively, if you prefer spring onions, finely chop them and set aside.
3. Finely chop the tomatoes, parsley and mint.
4. In a serving bowl mix the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, cumin is optional.
5. Add the bulgar, onions, tomatoes, parsley & mint and mix well.

GRILLED AUBERGINE & ROASTED TOMATO SALAD

This summer I went to visit the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall. How did I visit them if they were lost you might ask…. well once was lost now is found. The Heligan estate was in the Tremayne family for over 400 years, however in 1914, with the start of WWI the gardens were abandoned and left to disrepair. It was only seventy years late in 1990 that Tim Smith, John Nelson and a growing team of enthusiastic volunteers began restoring the gardens to their original splendor and working order.

They now boast one of the most wonderful vegetable garden with several rare varieties of plants, some of which you can buy from seed. There were also two wheelbarrows with freshly plucked veggies for guest to take home. A plump beetroot and several new potatoes made their way into my suitcase. I can only imagine what customs must have thought when scanning my things!!!

All this walking through gardens inspired me to create a few new recipes, including this salad. Great for hot summer lunches,  using fresh vegetables and easy to make in advance.

RECIPE : ERIKA ALLISTON  - Sweet Pea Blog

Grilled Aubergine & Roasted Tomato Summer Salad

(Salad for 4 people)

• 24 cherry tomatoes
• 50g roquette (rucola)
• 1 medium aubergine (eggplant)
• 50g ricotta

Aubergine Marinade

• 1 large crushed garlic clove
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Salad Dressing

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Salt & pepper
• Dash soya sauce

Cooking directions:

1. First make the aubergine marinade and the salad dressing and set them both aside
2. Pre-heat the oven GRILL to 150°C, placing the rack near the top of the oven.
3. Line a baking tray with baking paper and brush with a little of the aubergine marinade. Cut each tomato in half and place open-side down on the baking paper.
4. Cook the tomatoes for 15 minutes or until their top are just a touch golden.
5. While waiting prepare the aubergine. Heat a gill pan on medium-high heat. Remove the top and bottom of the aubergine & cut it into four pieces (see image). Slice one of the pieces into paper thin strips.*
6. Brush one side of the slices with the aubergine marinade and place on the grill. Grill for approx. 1 min or until dark lines appear.
7. Brush the ungrilled side with a little marinade and turn the slices over to grill the other side.
8. Repeat steps 6 & 7 until all four pieces are sliced and grilled.
9. In four bowls place a portion of roquette salad leaves, grilled aubergines, roasted tomatoes and small teaspoons of ricotta cheese and drizzle with salad dressing.

*I tried doing this with a potato peeler and mandolin but without success. I recommend using a large very sharp knife and cutting the thin slices individually.

The DUTCH Series N°4

In the past I generally thought of salad as a summer dish, made with a variety of fresh leafy greens picked from the garden. However, I have since developed a taste for the less celebrated but very tastey winter salad varieties. They are

• generally made with raw (often root)  vegetables  =  good for your health
• inexpensive
• quick & easy to make
• & delicious additions to the limited, winter vegetables repetoir!

Though I think it is safe to say that in terms of winter veggies, celeriac (celery root) is the ugly duckling. As when browsing through the market the last thing to entice your eyes is this nobly, pale yellow-green, root vegetable. Which is a shame really, as despite its appearance the taste is wonderful, more subtle then stalk celery & with a slightly nutty flavour.

As my grated raw beetroot salad was such a hit, I decided to make the celeriac salad in a similar fashion. However as celeriac has a more subtle flavour than beetroot & tends to turn brown soon after grated, I decide to make a creamy dressing for whiteness of colour, with a little less vinegar so you could still taste the natural flavour of the celeriac & used fresh thyme to compliment.

RECIPE - SWEET PEA Blog

IMPORTANT NOTE: Prepare the salad dressing FIRST, before  grating the celeriac. Celeriac oxidises when exposed to the air, turning a slightly brownish colour. The vinegar in the salad dressing stops this effect.  Otherwise if you are set on grating first, a dash of lemon juice over the grated celeriac will keep it looking fresh while adding a slight tartness to your salad.

Thyme salad dressing:

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon French mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (use dried if necessary) + for decoration
• salt & pepper to taste

Celeriac (celery root)

• 1 whole celeriac (celery root) = approx. 200g when grated

1. First make the salad dressing. Combine the oil, vinegar, soy sauce  & mustard. Next add the mayonnaise, salt & pepper. Mix well. Finally add the thyme leaves.
2. Peel the celeriac. Chop into 4 and then finely grate each piece.
3. Re-mix the salad dressing, and pour over the celeriac. Mix well, sprinkle with fresh thyme for decoration.

{BEETROOT SALAD} STOP!!!! Please don’t leave ….. beetroot can also be delicious. No this is not a joke, and yes I too started out as a prominent member of the ‘tortured beet eaters’,  as my mother, a health conscious, vegetable loving woman used to serve her children cooked or pickled beets.  Now while nutritious I found them anything but delicious.

So you can imagine my anxiety when I first visited Olivier (my fiancé) in Geneva, and at the local farmers market he popped a bunch of freshly picked garden beets into the basket and said ‘je te fait une salade de betteraves, tu vas voir c’est délicieux’ (I will make you a beetroot salad, you will see it is delicious!) Delicious… is he crazy, oh god, can we give them back, can I sneak them out of the basket… how am I to get out of this. We left the market with the beets in tow and I prepared myself for the worst – that childhood feeling of being unable to swallow, the smell of pickled vinegar and that slightly odd texture.

However, a pleasant surprise was awaiting me – as the salad he made resembled nothing of the beetroot of my childhood. These beets were a vibrant red, shaved into thin strips, and served raw, glistening with vinaigrette. They tasted sweet and tart at the same time, with a crisp, crunchy texture. So good was this salad that I thought I would pass along my version of the recipe….

RECIPE - SWEET PEA BLOG

1. 3 fresh garden beetroots (430g)
2. 4 sprigs of flat leaf parsley

Vinaigrette

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
• 1 teaspoon grainy dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon smooth dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon soya sauce
•  salt and pepper to taste

1. First remove the leaves, stalks and bottom of each beet. Next peel the beets and then grate them using a medium sized grater (if grated too finely the consistency of the salad will not be as nice) and set aside.
2. Coarsely chop the parsley and set aside.
3. Next prepare the vinaigrette by mixing at the ingredients together.  Add to the grated beets and mix well.
4. Finally add the parsley, leaving a few leaves for decoration.

NOTE: I make a large quantity of the vinaigrette as it is quickly absorbed into the salad. The taste is also strong to compliment the beets.